A Board-certified Pediatrician and Allergist/Immunologist shares a physician's perspective on parenting kids with allergies, parenting in general, and keeping it all together when all she really wants is a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup.

Monday, September 17, 2012

Neglected Child's Eyes Well Up, AllergistMommy's Priorities Get Shaken Up

It's been a crazy few months...

My micropractice is now a little over a year old, and I've been blessed with a growing patient base. However, with more patients comes MORE WORK! I love the patient care part - could do that all day. However, I could do without some of the paperwork, data entry, inventory, etc. I pretty much stopped sleeping.

So the time came to add someone to my team. The search for someone who can channel my vision for the practice into their everyday activities was not an easy one. Resumes, essay exams (yes, I actually had candidates complete an essay exam!), interviews, math quizzes, background checks... phew! Adding employees also means adding an employee handbook, policies and procedure manual, compliance programs, payroll, worker's insurance. Wait a minute - I thought getting help was supposed to reduce my workload?

So, no one would blame me if I haven't been scrapbooking, right? Wrong. My 4 year old blames me, and rightfully so.

This morning, he sat on the sofa with his brother after breakfast, leafing through my 7 year old's baby scrapbook. You know, the scrapbook I created when I was a wide-eyed, bushy-tailed new mom, delighted by the thought of documenting first smile, first bath, first solid food, first fill-in-the-blank? The scrapbook that is not only a collection of photographs, but also captions describing baby antics and quotations on boyhood and motherhood? My older son loves looking at this book whenever he gets the chance. Who wouldn't love a book where you're the star, and every photo is flattering, embellished with jungle animals and teddy bears?

The tears in my 4 year old's eyes were like a dagger in my heart. "Mommy, where is MY book?"

I didn't have the heart to tell him, "Honey, your photos are in a couple of albums on Facebook."

So, this week, I have added to the top of my task list:

Redeem self in eyes of baby boy. Create best baby scrapbook EVER. You have 2 hours.

5 comments:

Know how you feel. The difference between baby scrapbooks made (attempted at least) while working at a small base as a general pediatrician vs. while a fellow upset my youngest also. I am doing good at keeping and organizing all their stuff and now we try to work on their scrapbooks together.

Scrapbooking is great art... Very often I read blogs from all over the world, where people put their little works of art. Maybe there will be in the future the museum of it? Greetings from Poland, Europe.

About Me

Dr. Sakina Bajowalahas been practicing in the Fox River
Valley since completing her extensive training in allergy and
immunology. As an allergy sufferer herself, she
has a unique ability to identify with her patients and assist
them in developing a comprehensive plan to control their most
troublesome symptoms.

Dr. Bajowala has presented at national and state
conferences, and has designed research investigating the interplay of
allergic and gastrointestinal diseases. An accomplished public
speaker, she has been a featured guest on radio and educational lecture
programs, as well as quoted in national publications such as WebMD and Woman's
Day magazine. (Click here to see a list of articles in which Dr. Bajowala has been quoted.) She is the author of a popular allergy blog: "Achoo!- Adventures of an Allergist Mommy."

Dr. Bajowala is happily married with two young
sons. She's not only your local allergist, but also your neighbor- she lives with
her family in Sugar Grove, IL. Her interests include interior &
graphic design, exploring diverse cultures through world travel, and
vocal performance.